Lightly prized tobacco

ABSTRACT

A new form of chewing tobacco in cake form but with a low tensile strength such that it may be easily torn, broken, or bitten into smaller pieces.

I Umted States Patent 1151 3,693,629 Broughton [4 1 Sept. 26, 1972 [54]LIGHTLY PRIZED TOBACCO 106,882 8/1870 Spencer ..l3l/1 ll [72] Inventor:James A. Broughton, Louisville, Ky. 200302 2/1878 Kmney m6 1,365,969l/l92l Dula ..l3l/l6 [731 Asslgnw l i 3,223,090 12/1965 Strubel6181.....131/140 P ux poration, Louisvllle, Ky. [22] Filed: June 1, 1971Primary Examiner-Samuel Koren Assistant Examiner-George M. Yahwak [21]Appl' 148367 Attorney-Kane, Dalsimer, Kane, Sullivan and Kurucz [52] US.Cl. ..l3l/5,13l/l6, 131/111 57 BS C 51 Int. Cl. ..A24b 13/00 581 Fieldor Search ..131/1, 5, 6, 16, 111, 11s, A new form of chewms tobacco mcake form but wlth 131/117, 112, 113 114 115 a low tensile strength suchthat it may be easily torn,

, broken, or bitten into smaller pieces. [56] References Cited M .M e W.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 Claims, No Drawings LIGHTLY PRIZED TOBACCOBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Variouschcwing tobaccos have been marketedfor a considerable period of time. Two of the major forms of chewingtobacco are a hard, dense plug which requires great force in order to bebroken into smaller pieces for chewing, and loose processed leaveswhich, because of their form, require a relatively great volume for agiven quantity of tobacco and which are subject to some losses becauseof an inability to completely place in the chewer's mouth the quantitytaken from the storage pouch.

Persons who chew one of these two types of chewing tobacco would notgenerally switch between the two types. The chewer of plug would beunhappy with the fluffiness of the loose tobacco. The chewer of loosetobacco would generally not enjoy the plug because of the great forcerequired to obtain a piece of chewing size. No product existed whichfound ready acceptance among both types of chewers or which combined theadvantages of the two types of tobacco.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, ithas unexpectedly been discovered that a tobacco cake can be formedhaving properties such that it appeals both to chewers of the presentlyavailable plug and also to chewers of the loose, leaf type of chewingtobacco. This lightly prized cake is formed in such a way that itcombines many of the features of the two types and, because of thisrelatively intermediate position, can be equally used and enjoyed bypersons who formerly favored one type or the other of the referencedpresently marketed chewing tobaccos.

The lightly prized cake tobacco of the present invention isdistinguished from these formerly available types of chewing tobacco, inparticular, by the tensile strength, compressibility, and flexure. Theunique combination of properties renders the product acceptable to abroad spectrum of consumers.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide cakes ofchewing tobacco which are formed in such a manner that a uniquecombination of properties results.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide chewingtobacco having a particular tensile strength such that it is acceptableto a broad spectrum of users.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In accordance with the presentinvention a chewing tobacco cake is formed in such a manner that itsultimate physical properties fall within particular ranges which renderit desirable both to chewers of presently availableplugs and to chewersof loose, leaf chewing tobacco. A cake with such properties can beformed in a variety of ways, including particular control of thepressure of formation, or by freeze drying. In the latter situation, forexample, the cake can be formed according to the method described andclaimed in US. Pat. No. 3,223,090 Strubel et al., assigned to the sameassignee as the present invention.

When the cake is to be formed by pressing or prizing, the proper amountof tobacco containing casings, flavorings, etc. is placed into a formingmold and pressure is applied for a sufficient period of time to obtainthe desired physical properties. In general, the pressure is applied toa particular force level at which the contents of the mold have achieveda certain thickness and the pressure is then released. Upon release ofpressure, the cake springs back to a thickness intermediate the originalthickness and that achieved during the pressing or prizing operation. Atthis intermediate thickness, the desired physical properties arepresent.

In general, the most critical factor for the chewing tobacco accordingto the present invention is the tensile strength. This tensile strengthshould be less than 10 lbs. per sq. in., preferably from 1.0 to 6.0 lbs.per sq. in. Such a tensile strength is significantly less than thetensile strength of standard chewing tobacco plugs presently marketed,these materials ranging upwards of 17 lbs. per sq. in. tensile strength.

Of additional importance is the compressibility of the chewing tobaccoof the present invention which should fall within the range of from 1.5to 20 lbs. per sq. in., as measured by the final force applied by aChatillon compression gauge, or from 2.0 to 25.0 lbs. per sq. in., asinitial force by the same testing equipment. By comparison, the finalforce for presently available plug materials is generally well above 20lbs per sq. in., and the initial force is above 40 lbs. per sq. in. Ofcourse, the compression of loose, leaf chewing tobacco is unmeasurablein view of its form.

, A third important criterion for the lightly prized tobacco of thepresent invention is the degree of flexing. The flex should be in therange of from 0.1 to 3 lbs. as a final force, or from 0.1 to 4 lbs. asan initial force to bend the cake a distance of one-eighth in. at thecenter, with one-fourth in. of the cake supported in a testingapparatus. By comparison, standard plugs which are presently marketedhave a force for flexure, under the same conditions, of over 3 lbs.final force and well over 5 lbs. initial force.

Informing the lightly prized cake of the present invention throughpressing or prizing, a quantity of tobacco is placed into a mold. Such amold may have an area measuring 3 in. by 2 2 in. A quantity of tobacco,generally ranging from 1.5 to 3.5 oz., and properly cased and flavored,is placed within this mold. A force is then applied to compress thetobacco to such a degree that, when the force is relieved, the cake willspring back to a height of about 1 in. In many situations, the initialcompression creates a rectangularly shaped tobacco form with a thicknessof approximately one-half in. prior to relieving the pressure. Thus, thefinally formed cake has dimensions of 3 in. by 2 in. by l in., or avolume of 6 cubic in. Presently marketed tobacco chewing plugs havedimensions of about 3 in. by 2 in. by three-fourth in. or five-eighthin. It will also be apparent that a plurality of cakes can besimultaneously formed, e.g., by sizing a mold to form two to 12 or morecakes, placing the proper amount of tobacco in the mold for that numberof cakes, and proceeding with steps described above. These cakes maythen be cut to any desired area or shape. Continuous processing is alsopossible.

A particularly desirable casing for the lightly prized cake of thepresent invention may be licorice. The licorice may be applied inamounts of from about 2 to 8 percent, for example. In addition, otherstandard casings and flavorings, such as sugars, can be employed in theproduct. It is important that the moisture content of the tobacco duringthe light pressing or prizing be in the range of from about 18 to 23percent, with many casings and flavorings.

In order that those skilled in the art may be better enabled to practicethe present invention, the following sidered as illustrative and not aslimiting in any way the full scope of the invention as defined in theappended clairris.

In the following examples, the freeze dried cake is formed according tothe method described and claimed in the aforementioned US. Pat. No.3,223,090. The freeze dried cake had a quantity of 1.10 oz. of tobaccoand a density of 0.18 oz. per cu. in. Four different types of cake wereformed employing light pressure or prizing. In each case, the final cakehad dimensions of 3 in. by 2 in. by l in. and was formed according tothe method previously described. The primary difference in these cakeslay in the amount of tobacco contained within a given cake and the typesof cakes are identified as below:

Identification Quantity of Tobacco Density oz.lin.'

Per Cake (oz.)

Cake 1 1.75 0.29 Cake 2 2.00 0.33 Cake 3 3.00 0.50 Cake 4 3.25 0.54

The presently available commercial plugs used for comparative testinghad the following properties:

Identification Dimensions Weight Density Plug No. 1 3X2X5/8 in. 1.90 oz.0.5 oz.lin.

Plug No. 2 3 2 3l4 in. 2.04 oz. 0.45 oz.lin.'

EXAMPLE 1 Average Tensile Strength (Lbs. Per Sq. In.)

Product Identification Plug No. l (with tobacco wrapper) 28.21 Plug No.I (without wrapper) 17.03 Plug No. 2 (with tobacco wrapper) 25.33 PlugNo. 2 (without wrapper) 22.42 Cake No. l 1.32 Cake No. 2 1.39 Cake No. 35.31

Cake No. 4

Because of the fragile nature of the freeze dried cakes, it wasimpossible to determine a tensile strength, the strength is thus evenlower than those set forth above for cakes I through 4.

EXAMPLE 2 In this example, the compression of presently availablecommercial plugs and of cakes made according to the present inventionwere determined. A Chatillon compression gauge with a one-half in.diameter flat accessory foot attached was employed. The foot had an areaof 0.196 in. and each sample was compressed a distance ofthree-thirtyseconds in., with the initial compression force noted. Thisinitial position was maintained for 60 seconds and the final force anddepth were then recorded. The results were as follows:

The determination of the force required to flex the cakes of the presentinvention and standard commercial products was accomplished by clampingthe cake or plug at the end for a distance of one-fourth in. betweensmall metal rods. The center of the cake or plug was then bentdownwardly a distance of oneeighth in. The initial flexing force wasrecorded and, after maintaining the cake or plug in the flexed positionfor .60 seconds, the final holding force was noted. The results were asfollows:

Product Designation lnitial Holding Final Holding Force (Lbs.) Force(Lbs.)

Plug No. l 6.35 3 94 Plug No. 2 5.71 3 22 Cake No. 1 0.32 0 14 Cake No.2 0.57 0 24 Cake No. 3 2.97 l 83 Cake No. 4 3.82 2 47 Freeze Dried Cake0 15 0 10 It will thus be seen, according to the examples above, thatthe product of the present invention has physical propertiessignificantly different from plugs presently available and from looselypacked chewing tobacco. These particular physical properties make theproduct desirable to a wide spectrum of users, providing properties notpreviously available. It will be seen that the products of the presentinvention have these unique physical properties whether more or lesstobacco iscontained in the present products, than is contained inpresently available commercial products, or whether the densities of theproducts of the present invention are greater or less than those ofpresently available products.

Thus, a new chewing tobacco product has been described. However, theinvention should not be considered as limited to the specific examplesshown as preferred embodiments of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A chewing tobacco product comprising a block of tobacco having anon-cylindrical configuration and having a tensile strength of less than10.0 lbs. per sq. in. and an initial compression of from 2.0 to 25 lbs.per sq. in. and a final compression of from 0.5 to 20 lbs. per sq.

2. The product of claim 1 wherein the tensile strength is from 1.0 to6.0 lbs. per sq. in.

3. The product of claim 1 having initial flex resistance of 0.l to 4.0lbs.

4. The product of claim 3 wherein the tensile strength is from 1.0 to6.0 lbs. per sq. in.

5. A chewing tobacco product comprising a block of tobacco having anon-cylindrical configuration and having a tensile strength of less than10.0 lbs. per sq. in. and initial flex resistance of 0.1 to 4.0 lbs. anda final compression of from 0.5 to 20 lbs. per sq. in.

6. The product of claim 5 wherein the tensile strength is from 1.0 to6.0 lbs. per sq. in.

1. A chewing tobacco product comprising a block of tobacco having anon-cylindrical configuration and having a tensile strength of less than10.0 lbs. per sq. in. and an initial compression of from 2.0 to 25 lbs.per sq. in. and a final compression of from 0.5 to 20 lbs. per sq. in.2. The product of claim 1 wherein the tensile strength is from 1.0 to6.0 lbs. per sq. in.
 3. The product of claim 1 having initial flexresistance of 0.1 to 4.0 lbs.
 4. The product of claim 3 wherein thetensile strength is from 1.0 to 6.0 lbs. per sq. in.
 5. A chewingtobacco product comprising a block of tobacco having a non-cylindricalconfiguration and having a tensile strength of less than 10.0 lbs. persq. in. and initial flex resistance of 0.1 to 4.0 lbs. and a finalcompression of from 0.5 to 20 lbs. per sq. in.
 6. The product of claim 5wherein the tensile strength is from 1.0 to 6.0 lbs. per sq. in.